Oh happy day!
Great end to the week (speaking purely tennis-wise). I, er, decided that it'd be more interesting to stick with the Nadal-Djokovic final at Queen's than to watch Federer play Kohlschreiber at Halle. This decision was necessitated by the fact that both had been scheduled to start at the exact same time. I think the Halle match ended up starting slightly earlier than the Queen's one, but ended while Nadal and Djokovic were still duking it out in a first set tie-break. Seriously.
Anyway, I don't regret this decision one bit, because while Federer played yet another perfect grass match (his serve was not broken even once through the course of the entire tournament), beating Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4, the Queen's final was much more competitive. Djokovic looked to have the advantage early on in the first set, getting an early break to go up 3-0, but Nadal never wavered. After an edgy hold to get on the scoreboard for 1-3, he broke back and the tennis that ensued was top-notch from both players. Ultimately, though, Djokovic had to let up on his level of intensity at some point, and each time he did, the momentum would swing to Nadal's side. This was very evident when Djokovic lost his serve while serving for the second set at 5-4. He never fully recovered from the disappointment afterwards, losing the next two games as well to give Nadal the victory, 7-6(6), 7-5.
It bodes well for both players at Wimbledon, I have to say. Analysis of ranking points &ct will have to wait; RL beckons.
Anyway, I don't regret this decision one bit, because while Federer played yet another perfect grass match (his serve was not broken even once through the course of the entire tournament), beating Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4, the Queen's final was much more competitive. Djokovic looked to have the advantage early on in the first set, getting an early break to go up 3-0, but Nadal never wavered. After an edgy hold to get on the scoreboard for 1-3, he broke back and the tennis that ensued was top-notch from both players. Ultimately, though, Djokovic had to let up on his level of intensity at some point, and each time he did, the momentum would swing to Nadal's side. This was very evident when Djokovic lost his serve while serving for the second set at 5-4. He never fully recovered from the disappointment afterwards, losing the next two games as well to give Nadal the victory, 7-6(6), 7-5.
It bodes well for both players at Wimbledon, I have to say. Analysis of ranking points &ct will have to wait; RL beckons.